A few words from Luke Sutherland, composer for Whiteout /

April 9, 2015 8:20 am

Three weeks to go. Since the score for Whiteout is to be pre-recorded, I’m spending more time in the studio away from the rehearsal space, suffering a kind of separation anxiety.

We generated raw material for the show through hours of improvisation during which the dividing lines between (live) music and movement blurred. I was so affected by consistently breathtaking displays of dance, that the music developed in unexpected ways, as sure as if the dancers themselves had plucked the strings of my guitar or bowed the violin. As the choreography has become more focused and detailed, so has the music. In this sense, composition of the score has been a collaboration from top to bottom. I feel less like the composer than a co-composer.

The challenge now is to channel that energy into a recording. It’s lonely work. I miss being in the studio, feeling close to people who less than a year ago I’d never met.

Ultimately, the hope is that the score serves the show, helping to engage and entertain an audience. But it’s also the echo of an adventure, a map of new relationships, a thank you to the people who co-created it.